Australia Outback Pictures III
Outback Photo Gallery
More Australia Outback Pictures...
Again they were all taken in the north of Australia. In the north of the Western Australian Outback to be precise.
There is another thing that all the Outback photos on this page have in common: all pictures were taken just after the wet season, my favourite time of the year to travel in northern Outback Australia...
Australia Outback Pictures 14
Endless Red Road
Just what you would expect in the Australian Outback: a straight ribbon of red sand dissecting a desert plain. Only that the desert is blooming. Most people don't expect that...
This is the Duncan Road, previously known as the Duncan Highway. That's right, highway. It's an important beef road, meaning it is used to transport the cattle coming from remote Outback stations (ranches).
The road starts in the Northern Territory, crosses the border into Western Australia where it goes past the bottom of Lake Argyle. It joins the Buchanan Highway (also just a dirt road) before it reconnects with the bitumen of the Great Northern Highway in Halls Creek.
I still refer to it as Duncan Highway when I talk about it, because to me it is a highway, one of the best roads we have up here. And the most beautiful. At least in May, when the desert is blooming after the wet season...
Australia Outback Pictures 15
Wildflowers
The Australian Outback deserts receive a lot more rain than you would expect in a desert. In the north most of this rain falls during the wet season from November to April. Travel during that time is restricted and most roads are closed.
But as soon as they open again in April/May, that is the very best time for travel up here. The Outback is carpeted with wildflowers. Every turn in the road reveals a new landscape with a different colour scheme.
We had hot colours above, strong red and yellow. Here the big painter has used a pastel palette: mauve, silver and pink hues.
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Sunrise Over Our Campsite
Back to the warmer colours, they certainly dominate in the Australian Outback.
This is a sunrise in the middle of nowhere. There's not even a road here. Well, there is, about a kilometre back from where we camped. We had to leave the road and hide in that hollow because we weren't really supposed to camp there, but we ran out of daylight... (The picture was taken just outside the Bungle Bungles/Purnululu National Park.)
The camp is already packed up. Just putting out the fire and finishing the cup of coffee...
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The Bungle Bungles
This picture was taken the next day in Purnululu National Park itself. It's early morning again and we are approaching the southern part of the Bungle Bungles range.
Red and orange sandstone domes provide the backdrop for the yellow acacias and crimson grevillea flowers. You have to look hard to spot the grevillea blooms in the picture, but you won't be able to overlook them in real life...
The Bungle Bungles are an awe-inspiring place at any time of the year, but you just can't beat May...
If you ever want to visit Australia's north try to be here just after the wet season. Trust me, there is no better time.
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As Remote As It Gets
Another campsite in the Australian Outback. This one is far, far off the beaten track.
I love this place. Undulating plains stretch forever, with nothing but tufts of spinifex grass and the odd termite hill. It feels like the end of the world.
And there is no hint of what you find when you step just in front of the car...
Australia Outback Pictures 19
Marella Gorge
Marella Gorge they call this place. And you won't hear or read about it in any tourism brochures...
Yes, you can get down there and swim at the waterfalls after the wet season, it's awesome. If you can find it, that is. One day I'll find the time (I hope) and I'll make a page about the area on my other site, the Kimberley Travel Guide, and I'll tell you exactly how to get there.
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